<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> I thought people might find this interesting. Please publicize this at your college, other interested place and on other email lists. In solidarity, Peter Bohmer <p><b><font size=+2>Mumia Abu-Jamal's presence at the Evergreen State College graduation ignites controversy</font></b> <p><i>Washington Governor Gary Locke refuses to speak at 1999 graduation because US political prisoner on death row chosen as guest speaker</i> <p>Olympia, WA - On June 11th, the 1999 graduation ceremony at the Evergreen <br>State College (TESC) will include a unique commencement address - a <br>13-minute audio-recorded speech taped on death row by Mumia Abu-Jamal. <br>Abu-Jamal's presence at this event has provoked a nation-wide debate due to <br>the controversial nature of his case. A renowned journalist and author, <br>Abu-Jamal was convicted of murdering a Philadelphia police officer in 1982 <br>by what his supporters believe to have been a flagrant example of a flawed <br>judicial system. Abu-Jamal's presence at this graduation ceremony indicates <br>a conscious movement across the nation to recognize Mumia as a political <br>prisoner. A radical radio-journalist, he remains an outspoken critic <br>against the death penalty, police brutality, and institutionalized racism. <p>Abu-Jamal was chosen to speak at TESC's graduation ceremony in January, <br>after the school's administration mistakenly announced that the first choice <br>for commencement speaker, Washington governor Gary Locke, would be unable <br>to attend. The mistake was discovered, and the school found itself with two <br>commencement speakers- a pro-death penalty politician and a man whose death <br>warrant could be signed any day. Locke eventually bowed to pressure from <br>the state police, declining to speak at commencement. <p>Many community members continue to see Abu-Jamal as he is portrayed in the <br>local media as a "cop killer," and feel angered that he will be speaking at <br>a state college graduation ceremony. Despite educational opportunities on <br>campus to build awareness of the case, misinformation abounds. Facts of the <br>case reveal inconsistencies, police coercion, and racial bias. Stifled by an <br>incompetent defense that was hampered by an openly hostile judge, his <br>attorney did not challenge most of the questionable evidence nor present <br>much of the available evidence favorable to Mumia. <p>International Mumia supporters like the European Union, Nelson Mandela, <br>Amnesty International, the ACLU, and the International Longshoremen's and <br>Warehousemen's Union (ILWU), as well as over 40,000 US citizens who rallied <br>on April 24, 1999 in Philadelphia and San Francisco, insist that Abu-Jamal <br>be given a new trial. Many graduating students welcome the opportunity to <br>hear Mumia speak as well as to make a strong statement of opposition to an <br>unjust trial. "What does it mean, when he can sit there on death row for 17 <br>years, while more and more evidence of corruption keeps coming up?" asked <br>graduating Evergreen senior Megan Davis. "If this is what our justice system <br>has come to, then something has got to change." <p>Evergreen promoters of Mumia Abu-Jamal as commencement speaker put forward <br>several reasons for inviting him to speak. Students and faculty have worked <br>to increase public awareness of his case as well as the broader prison <br>crisis in the US where 2 million people are imprisoned, most of whom are, <br>disproportionately, people of color. First, Mumia speaking is an opportunity <br>for TESC to set a precedent among colleges. "It is easier to see injustice <br>in the past than in the present," explained TESC professor Peter Bohmer. <br>"This is a chance for Evergreen to stand up for justice." Second, they view <br>this event as a chance to combat the silence imposed upon the escalating <br>prison population in this country. Abu-Jamal has come to represent, for <br>millions, one person's ability to struggle and maintain strength in the face <br>of shocking injustice. Graduating senior, Stephanie Guilloud states, <br>"Selecting Mumia Abu-Jamal as the graduation speaker is an historic <br>opportunity that will reverberate beyond the walls of this particular <br>institution." <p><b><i> Signed, Concerned Students, Faculty, and Staff of the Evergreen State College.</i></b> <br> for more info, contact Pete Bohmer at [EMAIL PROTECTED]</html>
